The impact of the global financial crisis on government funds has been significant, with squeezed budgets having to satisfy ever-increasing demands for public services. Managers working in the public sector are confronted daily with targets and demands that are often set in confusing accounting and financial language. In Financial Management and Accounting in the Public Sector, Gary Bandy employs a clear and concise narrative to introduce the core concepts of accounting and financial management in the public sector and how to deliver services that represent value for money. This second edition has been revised and updated throughout, offering: an increased focus on post-crisis austerity more international examples of public financial management greater coverage of governance, accountability and risk management With a glossary of terms to help managers understand and be understood by accountants, as well as learning objectives, case studies and discussion questions, this practical textbook will help students of public management and administration to understand the financial and accounting aspects of managing public services.

This project, based on the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) data set, researched how PEFA can be used to shape policy development in public financial management (PFM) and other major relevant policy areas such as anticorruption, revenue mobilization, political economy analysis, and fragile states. The report explores what shapes the PFM system in low- and middle-income countries by examining the relationship between political institutions and the quality of the PFM system. Although the report finds some evidence that multiple political parties in control of the legislature is associated with better PFM performance, the report finds the need to further refine and test the theories on the relationship between political institutions and PFM. The report addresses the question of the outcomes of PFM systems, distinguishing between fragile and nonfragile states. It finds that better PFM performance is associated with more reliable budgets in terms of expenditure composition in fragile states, but not aggregate budget credibility. Moreover, in contrast to existing studies, it finds no evidence that PFM quality matters for deficit and debt ratios, irrespective of whether a country is fragile or not. The report also explores the relationship between perceptions of corruption and PFM performance. It finds strong evidence of a relationship between better PFM performance and improvements in perceptions of corruption. It also finds that PFM reforms associated with better controls have a stronger relationship with improvements in perceptions of corruption compared to PFM reforms associated with more transparency. The last chapter looks at the relationship between PEFA indicators for revenue administration and domestic resource mobilization. It focuses on the credible use of penalties for noncompliance as a proxy for the type of political commitment required to improve tax performance. The analysis shows that countries that credibly enforce penalties for noncompliance collect more taxes on average.

The Handbook is a virtual encyclopedia of public financial management, written by topmost experts, many with a background in the IMF and World Bank. It provides the first comprehensive guide to the subject that has been published in more than ten years. The book is aimed at a broad audience of academics/students, government officials, development agencies and practitioners. It covers both bread-and-butter topics such as the macroeconomic and legal framework for budgeting, budget preparation and execution, procurement, accounting, reporting, audit and oversight, as well as specialist subjects such as government payroll systems, local government finance, fiscal transparency, the management of fiscal risks, sovereign wealth funds, the management of state-owned enterprises, and political economy aspects of budgeting. The book sets out numerous examples and case studies describing good practice in public financial management, and is highly relevant for use in both advanced and developing countries.

This book analyses the role of public sector accounting, and the relevance of accounting frameworks, in assisting financially sustainable policy making. Focussing on the European context, the book examines financial reporting, management accounting, budgeting and other reporting requirements, for example, Government Finance Statistics. It also analyses emerging forms of reporting, such as popular reporting and integrated reporting, which may also be considered by policy makers, standard setters, and managers of public sector entities.

The importance of public financial management for the health and wellbeing of citizens became dramatically apparent as governments sought to respond to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Now, governments and other public sector organizations face the challenge of recovering from the pandemic whilst also seeking to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, with squeezed budgets and ever-increasing demands for public services. Public sector managers are confronted daily with targets and demands that are often set in confusing accounting and financial language. In Financial Management and Accounting in the Public Sector, Gary Bandy employs a clear and concise narrative to introduce the core concepts of public financial management to help those managers to deliver programmes, projects and services that are value for money. As the author puts it, managing public money is an art, not a science. This third edition has been revised and updated throughout, offering: a structure that is more clearly linked to the stages of the public financial management cycle greater coverage of transparency and accountability issues a broader view of public procurement to include goods, works and services and effective contract management; and an increased focus on public spending in the context of a post-COVID environment. With a glossary of terms to help managers understand and be understood by accountants, as well as learning objectives, discussion questions and exercises, this practical textbook will help students of public management and administration to understand the financial and accounting aspects of managing public services.

The Basics of Public Budgeting and Financial Management brings budgetary theory and practice together, filling the void between the two that has existed in the field of budgeting and public finance. This book bridges the gap by providing the reader with applications and exercises that reinforce budgetary theory. Students are given the opportunity to learn various concepts and skills necessary to succeed in the field and the exercises provided in each chapter require application of what is learned. Specifically, students will be exposed to basic budget and finance concepts, public revenue, financial management, risk assessment, cost benefit analysis, and so on. This handbook also provides great tools that allow the user to visually display budgets and other analysis. Students will gain the solid foundation needed to begin work in a budget office. Features of this second edition include enhanced data and optional in-class assignments. For ancillary materials, please contact the author at [email protected].

The first two decades of the twenty-first century have witnessed an influx of innovations and reforms in public financial management. The current wave of reforms is markedly different from those in the past, owing to the sheer number of innovations, their widespread adoption, and the sense that they add up to a fundamental change in the way governments manage public money. This book takes stock of the most important innovations that have emerged over the past two decades, including fiscal responsibility legislation, fiscal rules, medium-term budget frameworks, fiscal councils, fiscal risk management techniques, performance budgeting, and accrual reporting and accounting. Not merely a handbook or manual describing practices in the field, the volume instead poses critical questions about innovations; the issues and challenges that have appeared along the way, including those associated with the global economic crisis; and how the ground can be prepared for the next generation of public financial management reforms. Watch Video of Book Launch